


Different

by thatgirlwhowrites



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, the ending my babies deserved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 05:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13357914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatgirlwhowrites/pseuds/thatgirlwhowrites
Summary: An AU of Dan & Serena where Dan publishes a different version of his Serena chapter - the "wrong" one.Set in 6×08,It's Really Complicated.





	Different

He's convinced this day could not get any worse.Seeing her standing there with the guy she was ready to marry,he feels anger he didn't know he was capable of.

"Hey,Dominick dummy." He tears his eyes away from Serena to find Georgina walking towards him. _Of course she'd show up uninvited,again_.

With a great deal of effort,he manages to not roll his eyes.This is shaping up to be the worst Thanksgiving ever.Why did he agree to this again?

Right,because Serena had asked him for this,and he could never say no to her,not when she puckered out her lower lip and said _please_ and looked at him with such hopeful eyes.

He sighs,"Georgina.No Van Der Woodsen family holiday would be complete without you."

She doesn't even wait a second before dismissing his comment."Keep your flattery in your pants.I know you sent in two Serena chapters to 'Vanity Fair.'"

He wonders,briefly,how she knows that before concluding maybe it's best he doesn't know."I did,” he agrees reluctantly,"They're both the truth,and I'm still not showing you either."

"I don't need to read them." She states flatly."Obviously one is the stupid Serena serenade that you've been composing since ninth grade -" he opens his mouth to protest but she isn't done yet,”and the other is the piercing exposé that you started to write over the summer.Don't be an idiot.Do you wanna win,or do you just want to win Serena?"

He looks over at Serena again,talking and laughing at something Steven said. _That should be me making her laugh._

She looks so flawless without even trying and he wonders how it's humanly possible to be as beautiful as she is,both inside and out.

"Dinner's ready." Her voice calls and she meets his eye for a second,giving him a sweet smile,the kind she reserves only for him.

"There is no winning without Serena." He tells Georgina,and even though she rolls her eyes and gives an exaggerated sigh before walking away,he's never been more sure of anything.

Quickly,he pulls his phone out and clicks on the most recent entry in his call log."Daphne,it's Dan."

She greets him,sounding a little annoyed to be working on Thanksgiving."Hi.Uh,yeah,I've decided which chapter I wanna publish."

He looks at her once more,as if for courage,and recalls the glint in her eyes all those years ago when she found out she was the subject of Dan's article.

Then his mind flashes to more recently - last year,the pain in her eyes when she asked him if he even remembered the girl he fell in love with and despite his harsh words at the time,he really did hate himself in that moment for being the reason she looked so hurt.

Then,with more confidence than he's ever had before,he tells Daphne which chapter to publish.

 

 

Everyone is gathered at the table and conversing in high spirits but he finds it hard to concentrate when she's seated right next to him and smells as good as she does.

She gets up from her chair,and begins speaking."I just want to thank you all for joining us for our first Thanksgiving together as a couple."

 _Couple_.He and Serena are a couple.Over two years of having dated her and hearing those words leave her mouth still make his heart squeeze.

Her gaze lands on Georgina,seemingly for the first time."Even Georgina,who I didn't actually invite." She laughs that laugh of hers,the one that makes her sound like a 9 year old but he loves it.He can't help it,he does.

"But welcome.So to many more years of love,happiness,and good friends.Cheers." She says,sitting again.

"I,too,have something to be grateful for,” Georgina contributes,"Freedom of the press.If you'll all take a look at your phones,you will soon realize that my protege Daniel Humphrey has just released the latest installment of his serial,a chapter on our very own Serena."

She leans down and drops her voice to a whisper."The _wrong_ chapter,if you ask me,but it's already gotten close to 100,000 shares in the few minutes it's been up,so what do I know?" She concludes,sipping her drink.

Everyone immediately pulls out their phones and start reading,but Serena just looks at him expectantly."What's she talking about?"

"Serena Van Der Woodsen - the golden girl with a heart of gold," Nate fills in for her.

"A love story." Blair continues,and they both are wearing similar expressions of shock,but look impressed nonetheless.Serena,however,doesn't say anything.She just gets up and walks away.

 

 

He walks into her bedroom to find her seated on her bed,reading on her tablet.When she notices his presence,she starts reading aloud.

"" _She was everything he had ever wanted,Serena Van Der Woodsen.Brilliant and brave and kind.Beautiful in every meaning of the word,the only mistake she had ever made was falling for him,when she should've loved someone better._ ""

"Serena.." He says,but she doesn't stop.

"" _Serena Van Der Woodsen is going to change the world someday,with her brave heart full of dreams and kindness in every bone._ "Do you really think all of this?"

"Yes,I do.Of course I do,Serena,because it's true." She simply nods,a single tear slipping out of her eye and down her cheek.Immediately,he's at her side,wiping it away with his thumb.

"I am so sorry,Serena." He says,even though he's not sure what he's apologising for,because the one thing he is sure of is that he never wants to hurt her,never wants to see tears in her eyes.

Her eyes widen."What! No,don't apologise.You have nothing to be sorry about.It's just.." She sighs,and he can tell she's feeling vulnerable.

"Nobody has ever said stuff like that to me.It's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me,or,well,about me I guess."

She hugs him,pressing her head to his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist and it's embarrassing,he thinks,how fast his heart is beating right now.

She pulls back after a moment to look into his eyes."Okay,I'm sorry.I'm confused.When did you start writing this?"

He feels heat crawl up his neck from embarrassment."In the spring,same time I wrote all the other chapters."

"But you were so mad at me then?" It was supposed to be a statement,he thinks,but it came out as more of a question.

He sighs,"I was,yeah.I was so angry at everyone,at this world,so I wrote all those nasty things about them.But when it came to your chapter,I started typing,fully meaning to write terrible,cruel words about you too but I couldn't.It's like my fingers moved of their own accord.Even though you screwed up,I knew who you were and I couldn't write bad things about you,as much as I wanted to,because I didn't believe them."

Her face is one of pure delight,and he doesn't think he's ever seen her this happy.She pulls on his arm,silently asking him to sit down,and he does.

She kisses him and it's been 6 years since their first kiss but it still does strange,wonderful things to his stomach. _Butterflies_.

She smiles against his lips and his arms are around her waist and her hands are in his hair and they're tugging at each other's clothes and there's people in the living room and neither one of them cares.

"I thought you were different," she admits between kisses,"I'm so glad I was right."

Soon,they're connected in the most intimate way possible,with no idea where one ends and the other begins and he looks down at her face and he is certain: Him and her,what he's feeling,that's forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,this is my first time writing and posting fanfiction so please be kind.  
> Kudos and comments (even if it's constructive criticism) make my day!  
> Also,I just want to take a moment to acknowledge that since this is a rewrite of a particular Gossip Girl episode,it contains several quotes from that episode that I do NOT claim ownership of. Thank you!


End file.
